Glossary Term:

Title

needle localization

Phonetic

<b>need</b>-ul <b>lo</b>-cull-ih-<b>ZAY</b>-shun

Description

A procedure used to guide a surgical biopsy when the lump is hard to find or when there are areas that look suspicious on the x-ray but there is no distinct lump. A thin needle is placed into the area. X-rays are taken and used to guide the needle to the suspicious area. The surgeon then uses the path of the needle as a guide to find the abnormal area to be removed. See also biopsy, x-ray.